What to work and what to eat?

FERGAL7

Hey,
So I've been lifting for a while and had plateaued. I've started eating more but I have a few questions.

1: How essential are compounds(deadlift, bench, squat etc.) to gaining muscle and strength?

2: How much should i eat? I'm 6 foot, weigh about 177 pound. Today i ate a bowl of porridge(4 scoops, sugar, honey and banana.) protein shake(about 70g of protein), tin of tuna(27g of protein), dinner was 3 whiting fillets and a bowl of chips, and an omelette(4 eggs yoke included, chorizo, chicken breast and cheese). Is that enough or do I need more?

3: I want overall body development however one area I really want to see growth in is my arms should I target them more?

4: I have a severe problem with my pecs and have done for a while, my left one is a different shape and smaller in comparison with my right one. People usually say start using dumbbells instead of the bar when working the chest however this cannot be the issue as I have always used dumbbells and my left pec is still significantly less developed. Help on this issue would really be appreciated!

blatantrereg

1. They are fundamental.

2. Don't know. Doesn't sound like a huge amount of calories, just loads of protein. Anything above 20% of your calories from protein is unnecessary, suppresses your appetite and might cause stomach upset. High carb diets result in higher levels of testosterone and are therefore more effective for your purposes. If you are not gaining weight at all over a period of time then it would make sense to eat more.

3. Probably, unless you are already doing lots with them.

4. Don't increase what you lift with your right side until you can lift the same on your left. I would use a bar as well as dumbells.

Pay attention to sleep and rest. Building muscle requires the combination of rest, exercise and food. If one of those factors is poor then it doesn't matter how effectively you do the other two really.

FERGAL7

Thanks man
Just in relation to the pec issue I can actually press the same amount with my left side as my right I suspect the problem may lie in my form but even at that it's very strange because there is a huge discrepancy between the two! Would it be advisable when doing an exercise like db chest press to lower the weight(currently use 60 kg getting in about 8 reps.) so I'm reaching failure at about 15 to 16 reps but at 10 stop pressing with my right side and only press with my left til failure?

blatantrereg

I'd say it is form alright. You could try to isolate the pec; maybe cable crossovers.

Blacktie.

1- For overall development these movements should be the key how you measure progress. Any decent program is built around the big 3 lifts.

2- Track your calories using an app like myfitnesspal. Track everything for a week or two to get an idea of how much you're eating. You need to be in a surplus to gain weight. Protein is generally recommeneded to have about 1g/lb so about 177g for you e. Plus or minus a bit isn't a big deal so don't stress it too much but again you have to be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle. I don;t know where Fergal got his info on carbs and testosterone but it sounds way off to me. Carbs are a good fuel source for glycogen replenishment. Fats are good for hormones (which testosterone falls under).

3- Want bigger arms train arms.

4- Work on form. Sounds like you're not completing the same amount of work with each side but it's impossible to tell without a video.

blatantrereg

Blacktie. wrote: »

I don;t know where Fergal got his info on carbs and testosterone but it sounds way off to me.

There are plenty of papers on it.

The aim of this study was to determine if a change in protein/carbohydrate ratio influences plasma steroid hormone concentrations. There is little information about the effects of specific dietary components on steroid hormone metabolism in humans. Testosterone concentrations in seven normal men were consistently higher after ten days on a high carbohydrate diet (468 ± 34 ng/dl, mean ± S.E.) than during a high protein diet (3.71 ± 23 ng/d1, p<0.05) and were accompanied by parallel changes in sex hormone binding globulin (32.5 ± 2.8 nmol/1 vs. 23.4 ± 1.6 nmol/1 respectively, p<0.01). By contrast, cortisol concentrations were consistently lower during the high carbohydrate diet than during the high protein diet (7.74 ± 0.71 μg/d1 vs. 10.6 ± 0.4 μg/d1 respectively, p<0.05), and there were parallel changes in corticosteroid binding globulin concentrations (635 ± 60 nmol/1 vs. 754 ± 31 nmol/1 respectively p<0.05). The diets were equal in total calories and fat. These consistent and reciprocal changes suggest that the ratio of protein to carbohydrate in the human diet is an important regulatory factor for steroid hormone plasma levels and for liver-derived hormone binding proteins.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320587900865

FERGAL7

blatantrereg wrote: »

There are plenty of papers on it.



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320587900865

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question it's just I'm not really clued in when it comes to dietary requirement but.. is it incorrect to say that I should actually try to focus on getting carbs in and between supplements and food eaten for the the purpose of carbs I should end up getting my protein requirments regardless?

Blacktie.

blatantrereg wrote: »

There are plenty of papers on it.



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320587900865

Study from a paper published in May 1987.

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question it's just I'm not really clued in when it comes to dietary requirement but.. is it incorrect to say that I should actually try to focus on getting carbs in and between supplements and food eaten for the the purpose of carbs I should end up getting my protein requirments regardless?

Could you reword this. I have no idea what you're asking.

blatantrereg

It depends on what you eat. 20% of calories from protein, 20% from fat and 60% from carbs is probably a good idea for someone training to build muscle. Protein and carbohydrate have the same calorific value per gramme (4), fat has a bit more than twice as many calories per gramme (9). So using this ratio, every 1000 calories you eat would be made up of about 22.5g fat, 50g protein and 150g carbohydrate.

The protein in most carbohydrate-rich food is generally low in particular amino acids. However beans and pulses are high in the amino acids that are low in cereals, and vice-versa. So the protein in rice is not very useful by itself for example, but if you eat an equal mixture of rice and chick peas, then the protein is effectively as good as meat protein. Quinoa is an exception which provides good levels of different amino acids by itself. It's important to select unprocessed foods for carbohydrates, and keep sugar intake low.